Diego Lopez's arrival in January saw the 32-year-old Spain skipper relegated to the bench by former boss Jose Mourinho for most matches, although Ancelotti, who took charge in the summer, has, at least, been using the veteran Blancos shot-stopper in European ties this season.

With Casillas having starred in Tuesday's Champions League draw with Juventus, Ancelotti has reiterated that the Spain international has a future at the Santiago Bernabeu, but did add that he has no plans to bring him back into his regular starting line-up in La Liga.

"I think Iker was clear about his future after the match against Juve," the former Chelsea and AC Milan boss told reporters on Friday. "He likes it here and there is no problem. We want him to stay and he wants to stay.

"I made the decision [to choose Lopez over Casillas] at the start and that decision has been made. At that time, Diego Lopez was in better condition when I made that decision. Nothing would change if I were to choose again now."

The coach also defended his decision to drop Isco and Angel Di Maria to the Madrid bench of late.

"Di Maria's mood is very good but sometimes competition puts you on the bench," Ancelotti added. "It's not that I have lost confidence in him.

"Isco played against Sevilla the other week and then did not play. The problem is competition. He occasionally plays and occasionally goes to the sidelines. He needed to rest and now he is fine."

Madrid next face Real Sociedad on Saturday, with kick-off at 16:00CET.